West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-03-18
GREAT GUNS.
Boston Herald.

England's big guns are made of
bars of coiled spirally and welded
into a solid mass by the hammer.
These red-hot furnaces contain q
straight bar; at a word the door is
slightly raised, and with huge nip
pers its head is siezed by loops
made for the purpose. A steam
winch draws out the glowing mass
and brings it to horizontal capstan
fixed before the door. A water hose
is turned upon the loop, and while it
blackens under the chill, stalwart
fellow, welding a heavy sledge, fixes
the loop on a nut projecting from the
capstan wheel. Then the machine
revolves with resistless force, curling
the hot metal round and round on its
drum neatly and smoothly, and as
easily as one of Jordan & Marsh's
girls would wind ribbon. So the coil
is formed whether for the breech-
piece or the body of the gun, or for
its jacket. This again is cooled. and
after while is refined for Welding
under the hammer.
You ought to see this Woolwich
hammer. 1t weighs forty tons shear
weight, and when it drops it falls
forty feet into a block that rests on
piles, massive masonry and enor-
nous quantities of iron. Between
two great shafts this hammer is sus-
pended, a solid block which driven
from above by steam and gathering
impetus as it falls, strikes with the
force Of many hundred tons. A vet
eran workman has charge of this
massive hammer. He starts and
drops it by the touch of his thumb
and finger. / saw an open. faced
watch laid down on the block; then
he dropped the hammer, and he stop
ped it just in time TO break the crys-
tai and nothing more. They call
this last operation of furnace the
''great heat" and about every mon
arch there is in Europe has seen it,
just as / did yesterday. While am
wondering what they thought about
it the furnace to be emptied Is far
ing with impatience. Through the
interstices of it's great door blue, red
and purple flames are leaping. A
huge crane swings round a pair of
pincers, at the end Of dozen Brit
ons cluster. The door rises a little,
the white light blinds us, and. al
though / am at least twenty yards
away, the heat burns my face un-
comfortably. Water is thrown into
the awful gap, and then men per-
ceive their prey. The huge arms
part and firmly close, the door rises
to it's fullest extent, clash of the
crane gear, a shout from the men
and out it comes, easily and softly,
monstrous coil. The crane swings
about and places it on end upon the
anvil. Then the hammer falls, ,shak-
ing the solid floor beneath US, crush
ing the red hot mass inches down at
a blow, welding its coils together so
that they can never part. But the
inside hollow has been knocked out
of shape by this process, so, when
the tube has been reduced to its
proper length, a solid mandril is
deftly slipped betwixt the hammer
and the iron. For two or three blows
the contracted coil attempts resist
ance, but it gives way and the man.
drill is deity slipped betwixt the
hammer and the iron. For two or
three blows the contracted coil at.
tempts resistance, but it gives way
and the mandril slips to its base as
into butter. Then the great pincers
are used again, and it drops the mass
on its side, where again it is battered
and struck all around. The irregu-
larities caused by all the hammering
are afterward removed by the plane,
and then the gun is made by other
machinery